1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for mounting of electrical components on printed circuit boards (also known as "printed wire boards"), and more particularly to a spacer device used for spacing a vertically mounted electrical component away from the solder termination on the printed wire board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Present military and commercial requirements for components on printed wire boards generally specify that the component body must be spaced a minimum distance, such as 0.015 inch, away from the printed wire board. Some known methods for accomplishing this spacing function commonly include a ring or washer-like spacer having one or more holes therein through which the component wire leads pass. One such known spacer is donut-shaped and has a central hole for receiving the component wire lead. Such spacer is held between the body of the component and the printed wire board and is of the thickness for meeting the spacing requirement. This type of spacer is of permanent nature in that it is permanently secured around the component wire and is positioned between the component and the printed wire board. Such ring-shaped spacers have also been made of material that dissolves from the heat of the soldering operation. Another type of known spacer comprises a generally elongated flat sheet of material having the desired spacing thickness and a pair of holes through which both leads of the component are threaded. Another type of two-holed spacer presently known comprises a T shaped supporting spacer with a base portion having two holes into which the component leads are threaded and an upright portion extending at right angles from such base portion. All of the above-described methods require the assembler to thread one or more of the component leads through a small hole and then hold the spacer to the component until it is assembled on the printed wire board. This operation is very tedious and time consuming. Also, the known spacers that are permanently mounted between the component and the printed wire board present an obstruction for purposes of inspecting the component solder joint.